Is 1200 calories a day enough??

I am a gastric bypass patient, post surgery 21 months. Lost 92lbs easily now I have hit a platue and it wont budge so i am trying the 1200cals that this sight recommended to see if the scale moves. I want to lose 30 more lbs which would put me at 160. I belong to a gym and find it hard to work out and in januarary I go back to college plus work full time. I am 52 and want to be healthy I just feel overwhelmed right now Bananarama3:yawn:

I would think the 1200 calories a day would be your goal to meet that weight goal if you were NOT exercising at all. I started at 162, wanted to lose 1 lb / week and my goal weight is 145 and with NO exercise it says my daily goal is 1340 calories. I've gone from 162 to 156 in 5 1/2 weeks, and that INCLUDED THANKSGIVING WEEK (I had company all week and ate out every night and was consistently 800 calories over my limit the whole week).

As you record your workouts, it will allow you to eat more calories each day.

That's just my 2cents. I'm not a professional or anything...lol.

I'm 160, and MFP likes to put me at 1,200 a day (even at one pound a week). At the end of a month at 1,200 I hadn't lost a thing and was beyond frustrated. I began to "not care" as much, and wasn't really tracking. The weight began to drop off like crazy.

Right now I'm doing 30 Day Shred and reduced to 1,250 a day on my own, but I'm not losing a thing again.

I recommend 1,400-ish, and see what happens. This last bit is probably going to be slow for you and I, but we'll get there! ;-)

Not unless you are TINY!

20 lbs to go? Aim for 1/2 to 1 lb per week. You might not lose as fast, but what you lose will be more likely to be fat, rather than muscle.

1200 is enough, provided you add in your exercise calories when you exercise. You don't want to go below 1200 after exercise.... you want 1200 plus most of your exercise calories.
If I were you, I'd try for 1 lb weight loss a week, it'll give you a bit more wiggle room.

I think this is great advice... 1200 is never enough for me, though if I have a big exercise day my calories sometimes come in just under 1200 but I don't think this is good in the long term - your body needs energy.

I started at 1200 calories and paid close attention to feeling hungry or sluggish. I planned to increase it by 100 calories each week until I found a calorie level that felt satisfying (expecting to land around 1400-1600). You might try doing that to figure out how many calories you need. There are also BMR calculators to help with this (which, I think, is how MFP calculates it) but I don't trust them. They say I need to eat 2300 calories/day to maintain, but I've been "maintaining" at 1800-1900/day for a long time.

Surprisingly, 1200 calories feels fine for me so long as I meet my protein and fiber needs. On days that I'm low on protein or fiber I feel hungry and sluggish.

Also, as others have mentioned, your calorie goal is NET calories. That's how much you should eat on a lazy day. You have to eat more when you exercise.

Food ideas:

I start every day with a bowl of oatmeal with half a scoop of protein powder and some dried fruit to sweeten it (although, I'm now looking for alternatives for the dried fruit). Not the instant packets - they add sugar and stuff to it. If you're gonna do this buy quick oats and make your own grab and go packets in ziplock bags.

For lunches and dinners, I mix together one serving of meat and 1-2 servings of low-calorie vegetables (usually spinach, for me). If I need carbs I will also add rice or pasta, or I'll add bread and make a sandwhich out of it. Then for flavor I use either salsa, salad dressing (1 TBSP only, italian dressing or some kind of vinegrette), or mustard. I do some variation of this meal twice a day: once for lunch, once for dinner. Usually one of these meals has a carb and one does not.

In addition, I also eat 1-3 servings of fruit each day. Be careful measuring your servings because fruit is high in sugar and therefore high in calories.

Each of these meals is around 300 calories, with significant variations from the type of fruit, or the type of meat.

when you log your workouts you will get/earn calories that will be added to your base of 1200... so more realistically, your average goal could look like 1400-1600 a day -- which is much healthier and sustainable.

you should try to 'net' your base of 1200 each day, regardless.

good luck!:happy:

It isn't A LOT of nutrients---period. Yeah you can eat pounds of vegetables but then you're deficient in fat or you can load up on fruit but you'll run into the same problem--I will never concede that it's a lot of food if you're eating a balanced diet.

Just wanted to add my input. I've been doing 1200 calories and sometimes I'm slightly over, others I'm under by 50 or so calories... Everyone's body is different. A lot of people have better results on a higher amount of daily calories, but for me, I never have. I'm 180 lbs, and when I upped my calorie level I found it difficult to lose weight. I'm trying to lose around 30-50 lbs, so it's important to do what works for you. I take green tea/apple cider vinegar supplements from Jamieson with breakfast and lunch, since starting them I've had no problem sticking to 1200 calories without being hungry. I modify a lot of high fat/calorie recipes to be healthier and more filling and I'm also vegetarian.

Everyone's different, so play around with the numbers to find something that works for you!

I'm on 1200 calories and for the first time ever I feel great - I feel full and healthy from what I'm eating, it feels like the right amount for me.

I am only short (less than 5 foot) so I set my mfp settings to sedentary, and then I add in the exercise that I do, which means there are frequent days when I can fill my face and still have a ton of calories left over. It's also a good motivation to exercise, if I feel like having something nice later on. But if I have a lazy day and do nothing, 1200 calories feels like the right amount for me.

For example today I cycled to and from work, which takes about 70 minutes in each direction and burns about 1100 calories in total. I've eaten 3 solid, filling meals, drank milk for drinks and had fruit for snacks and I'm still only at 446 net! Yet I'm sat here feeling like I have a 'food baby' because I had such a big dinner and I'm full. It would seem ridiculous to me to go and try to cram in another 800 calories that my body is not in the slightest bit hungry for, just because of some myth about less than 1200 calories net being bad for me.

There is a lot of scaremongering about calorie amounts. I agree with others who say that 1200 calories is fine if you are eating healthily, lots of fruit and veg, lean meat, nuts, etc. I think the important thing is to listen to your body and be aware of your energy levels. If you feel good and active in yourself then it obviously works for you, and I'm a big fan of finding out what works for you.

It's worth thinking about those who have gastric sleeve operations. They are on significantly less than 1200 calories a day for a very long time, hence their drastic weight loss. Now I'm not saying that gastric sleeves have no side effects, but if a severely reduced calorie diet was so bad for us, then doctors wouldn't recommend them, would they?

tl;dr - if 1200 calories works for you, then great, go for it. If not, figure out something else and do that instead. But do what works for *you* as that is most likely to succeed in the long run.

i'm actually eating 1200 calorie a day, you just have to watch what you eat. I snack every two hours or so while i'm at my desk, eat a good lunch and by the time I get home i'm so full that i barely eat dinner but I will snack on something.

You have to keep in mind that working out on 1200 and inputting your workouts, you get more calories since you burned someone off during your workout.

Unless you are WELL under 5ft and sedentary, in my experience....No. Not enough.

Your probably should set your weight loss at a much lower rate ie .5 to 1lb per week.
You don't have much to lose and it would be effective to lose it slowly as you would then probably keep it off.
Eat back some of your exercise calories is also a good plan.

I'm trying to get down from 155 or so to 135 at 2 pounds a week and MFP targeted me at 1200 a day. I work out everyday. I try to do 3 miles on the stationary bike at least 3 times a week, and most days I do a set of 300 various crunches and 3 sets of 40 pushups. I don't track steps or anything like that.

I've hit my goal in about 2 months and feel great. My abs are starting to look decent and overall I feel healthier. 1200 calories a day/2 pounds a week can be done IF you are eating the right foods. My diet consists mostly of fresh fruits, hard boiled eggs, baked poultry, and spinach, but I do let myself eat whatever I want on the weekends. I come up short on fat and carbs most days, but I would think my weekend splurges make up for this.

BUT everyone is different and short of consulting a medical professional, the best thing you can do is use common sense. I'm a 32 y/o 5'9" male with a somewhat sedentary lifestyle so this works for me, but it might not be right for you. If you are larger or get more exercise 1200 a day is probably too little for you. If you are smaller it may be perfect.